Abstract [en]

Since the Internet use in Sweden is increasing every year (Davidsson & Findahl, 2016), it is current to examine whether parents' Internet habits have an impact on the parent-child-relationship. Attachment is an important cornerstone of human development (Bandura, 1997) and it is of importance to explore possible consequences on both social and individual levels. This study was made in order to examine whether parents' Internet habits are related to his or her perceived relationship and closeness to the child (1-6 years) and his or her parental self-efficacy (PSE). The study was of a quantitative design and questionnaires were distributed to parents. There were 36 participants, 24 women and 11 males. Average age was 34.4 (SD = 5.7). The study consisted of the validated Mother to infant relation and feelings-scale, measuring the perceived relationship and closeness to the child, and Tool to Measure Parenting Self-efficacy-scale which measured PSE. The questionnaire also consisted self-constructed questions about Internet habits. Data weren’t normally distributed, hence the analyze were made by Spearman's correlation analysis. As mentioned in Davidsson and Findahls report (2016), parents use Internet 0-2 hours a day at home wich were presented by frequency tables. The attachment, the feeling of a strong relationship and closeness to the child, related positively to PSE. One of the findings in this study was that time spent on the Internet correlated negatively with PSE. This was in the authors' knowledge A new finding within the research field. The conclusion is that since Internet use is a current and growing habit of Sweden's population, the knowledge of its impact on parent’s PSE should be expanded. This is to avoid the risk of children being raised in poor attachment relationships.